The Honor of the Ghostbusters
by WayWardWonderer
Summary: Winston Zeddemore pays tribute to his fallen brothers while showing his appreciation to the new brotherhood he had become a part of after being honorable discharged from the marines, as a Ghostbuster.


Returning victorious from a bust always put the four intrepid Ghostbusters in high spirits. After successfully removing a trio of poltergeists from a newly renovated apartment complex with minimal damage to the building not only got the foursome great press, but it got them a bonus from the foreman who had called them in to take care of the problem.

"Tonight, drinks are on me!" Dr. Peter Venkman cheered as he exited the front passenger side of Ecto-1 with the foreman's check clutched greedily in his hands. "Gotta' love the working man!"

"Speaking of which..." Winston Zeddemore climbed out of the back of the iconic hearse and chased after Peter. "you've been putting off Janine's raise for the past six months. You better give her some chunk of that check."

"Aww... Zed!" Peter theatrically whined. "Why'd you have to go and be generous like that? You ruined the moment!"

Dr. Raymond 'Ray' Stantz exited the driver's side of the hearse with a smug grin on his face as he followed his friends through the garage. "Don't forget to clean out the traps. It doesn't count as a truly successful bust until the ghost are incarcerated inside the containment unit."

The last to leave the vehicle Dr. Egon Spengler was checking the data recorded on his PKE meter as he quietly joined his colleagues next to Janine Melnitz's desk near the rear of the garage.

"So what do you think about that?" Peter asked as he smugly hopped up onto Janine's desk and leaned over in a coy manner to show her the nice fat check that the Ghostbusters had just received. "Pretty nice, huh?"

"Sure is." Janine agreed as she pressed her fingertips against the big numbers running along the check deposit. "It'd look even nicer if one of those zeroes was attached to my own personal paycheck."

"We all dream!" Peter quipped as he pulled the check from his hands and jumped down from the desk. "I'll be in my office, no calls!"

"What office?" She called back as he slipped over the small barricade that created the border to his open office space.

"Yeah, well I need to change my shirt." Winston announced as he unzipped his jumpsuit and slipped the sleeves from his arms. "I got a good work out today. Who needs a gym membership when you have ghosts to catch?"

Ray noticed that Egon was fixated on the PKE meter in his hands. "Anything new or interesting Spengler?"

"No. All data is within normal parameters of the ghosts in our jurisdiction."

"Wow, a bust with no nasty surprises waiting for us afterward. That's a nice change!"

"Perhaps the normalcy is the surprise." Egon pondered as he made his way back to Ecto-1 to retrieve the traps and proton packs. "We better take care of the equipment before we do anything else."

"Good idea." Ray unzipped the top of his jumpsuit and ran his hand through his dark hair. "I'm ready to sit back and relax for a while."

Janine watched with a gleeful gaze as Egon and Ray crossed back through the garage to the parked hearse. As the duo set to work properly disposing of the used equipment the phone on her desk started ringing. Answering the phone in her usual tone Janine was greeted with a melancholy voice on the other end of the line.

"Ghostbusters, how may I direct your call?"

The somber voice politely asked to speak to Winston and said nothing more.

"Oh yes, he's right here. Just one moment." Putting her hand over the speaker of the phone she called out to Winston who was standing beside his locker folding his sweaty shirt to wash later. "Winston, phone call!"

"Huh." Winston shut his locker and strolled over to the desk. "Did they say who was calling?"

"Some doctor, but he didn't give a name. He is a well spoken man though." She handed Winston the phone and turned her attention to her paperwork in an attempt to give Winston some form of privacy.

"Hello, this is Winston." He paused as the voice replied. "Yes, I am in fact Winston Zeddemore from-" He paused again as the voice began going into great detail that made Winston's usually flawless posture sink and his shoulders slouch. "I see... Thank you for calling. If I can just get the address..."

Winston quickly scribbled down the directions on a small pad of paper from the corner of the desk. Ray could hear the change in Winston's tone of voice and became as curious as he was worried. Looking up from the rear compartment of the hearse he watched silently as the bold marine handled his unexpected phone call. Peter, who had been pretending to not eavesdrop at his own desk was also curious about the phone call.

"No, I know where to go." Winston responded calmly into the phone. "No, there's no one else to be contacted. Thank you again. Goodbye." After hanging up the phone Winston took a deep breath and stared at the floor longingly. "Janine, I need to take off for a while."

"Is there something-"

"I'll be back in a few days." Winston marched off without another word and without giving Janine a chance to finish her question.

Ray nudged Egon's arm as he watched Winston ascend the staircase with a grim facade on his face. "What's with Winston?"

Peter casually strolled away from his desk and returned to Janine's desk. "What was that about?"

"I don't know." Janine admitted. "I don't know who that was or what it was about."

"Curiouser and curiouser..." Peter teased as he carefully pondered his next move.

"Oh no!" Janine grabbed onto his arm with a firm grip. "Don't you go and bother him! If there's something going on he has the right to privacy!"

"Privacy is overrated."

Ray and Egon gathered around the desk with their occupied traps and used proton packs in tow. Both men sided with Janine as Ray spoke up on Winston's behalf. "Leave him alone Peter. If he wants to talk about it, he will."

"But I'm bored and he's interesting."

Egon shot Peter a serious look. "If you need something to do occupy your time you can help me categorize my spore samples."

"Yeah... I think I'll take care of some paperwork." Peter less than subtly dismissed himself from the offer. "Want to make sure that check clears, you know?"

Janine shook her head. "Yeah, we know."

Ray motioned with a single nod for Egon to follow him to the basement. "Equipment first. Whatever's bother Winston second."

* * *

Winston walked into the bunk room of the firehouse and knelt down at the footlocker at the end of his bed. Opening the lid he carefully peeled back the top layer of the lid to reveal a secret compartment containing an old photograph protected beneath a thick layer of glass and contained inside an aged, golden frame. The frame showed six men, all marines, gathered together for a group shot in front of a weather worn tent.

"Sorry guys." Winston bowed his head in respectful silence and he became lost in thought. "Should've stayed in contact."

A heavy air weighed down on his shoulders as he sat alone in deep thought.

* * *

"Last one." Ray finished emptying the occupied trap into the containment unit and tossed the trap aside to be recharged later on. "How're the packs?"

"Charging normally." Egon declared as he checked the power levels. "PKE meters all accounted for and charging as well."

"Everything is running normally." Ray sighed and put his hands on his hips. "I don't like it. Things that run so smoothy for us professionally usually come back and bite us professionally."

"Not necessarily." Egon refuted. "You became ill after and electrical ghost tried to siphon energy from your heart, and that particular bust was less than pleasant."

"True." Ray admitted as he made his way up the stairs. "And of course me and Winston had been on that call outside of the city when Peck shut down the containment grid and allowed Gozer to return to Earth."

"Not to mention us going about our lives outside of being Ghostbusters when Dana requested our help and we ended up confronting Vigo the Carpathian later that month."

"Hey Spengler, do you think we'll ever have truly normal lives?"

"Unlikely."

"Good. I'd hate to get bored." Ray admitted as he reached the top of the stairs.

"Guys," Janine called out to the two scientists as they returned to the garage. "there's something going on with Winston."

"Winston?" Ray's eyes lit up with worry. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure. But he told me he'd be back in a few days before he went upstairs, and then he just left without a word."

"Winston is gone?" Egon asked as he too was puzzled by Winston's unusual behavior. "Do you have any idea where he may have gone off to?"

"No." Janine crossed her arms as she tried to think of anything that Winston may have said or done that could give them an answer. "All he had was a duffle bag over his shoulder and he had changed into his normal clothes."

"I wonder what's up?" Ray asked as he rubbed at his chin thoughtfully.

"I can tell you what's up." Peter's voice rang out through the firehouse from his office space. "That phone call had Winston rattled. Something terrible has happened and he's trying to deal with it. Alone."

"Are you saying we should leave him alone?" Ray didn't like the idea of leaving a friend to himself when he was dealing with some sort of crisis.

"No. I'm saying he wants to be alone. For now." Peter casually kicked his feet up on his desk and leaned back in his chair. "When he wants to talk about it, he will."

Janine remained unconvinced. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." Peter was as confident as he was abrasive, one of his many 'quirks' that the team had come to know and embrace. "My guess is he received some unfortunate medical news and has to deal with it."

"Medical?" Egon inquired logically. "How do you know?"

Janine paled a little. "Because the man who called Winston said he was a doctor."

"Oh..." Ray gulped nervously. "Well, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."

"Ray," Peter gave the empathetic and optimistic engineer an annoyed glare. "if it was nothing then that's exactly what Winston would be doing right now. Not rushing out the door in secrecy."

Egon wasn't impressed with Peter's apathy. "Venkman how can you be so cold?"

"I'm not being cold I'm being distant. I'm respecting Winston's right to privacy."

"By eavesdropping and making guesses with little information to support what you say?"

"Yes. Like I always do."

Ray, Egon and Janine just gave Peter an irked glance before falling into analytical thought on the subject at hand.

* * *

Winston found himself standing outside the building of a law office in Boston Massachusetts. After paying the cab driver he hoisted his duffle bag over his shoulder and made his way inside the impressive brick and marble structure.

It was an eerie feeling to be inside such a large and official place, but Winston knew that his current levels of comfort weren't the most important for the time being.

Other people were counting on him.

* * *

The night had gone on without any further disturbances being reported to the Ghostbusters. It was quiet and still all throughout the peaceful night which gave the three remaining Ghostbusters ample time to finish taking care of their equipment and catch up on paperwork. Bored and unable to focus on anything other than Winston's odd behavior the three men chose to go to bed early and try to sleep in.

"Any sign of Winston?" Ray asked as he walked out of the bunk room the next morning. He was the last one awake, which was usually Peter's role. "Is he back?"

"No." Egon was sitting at the computer in the corner of the rec room with a cup of coffee in his hand. "He didn't call either."

"Damn. Wonder where he is?"

Peter yelled up from the ground floor. "Will you two relax? Winston's a big boy, he can handle things himself."

"But he shouldn't have to!" Ray defended firmly.

"Ray," Egon reluctantly sided with Peter in the debate. "it'd probably be best to leave it be. For now."

"But-" Ray knew when he was beat and dropped it. "Yeah, you're right. We just have to be patient."

* * *

Sitting on the edge of the small bed in the dark hotel room Winston held the large wooden box in his hands with a sense of haunting dread behind his usually warm, fearless, kind eyes. The box was old and made of oak. Hand carved details outlined the box and the word 'Fratrum' was engraved in bold letters on the lid. A large brass lock sealed the box and looks as though it hadn't been disturbed in many years.

"Never thought I'd see this thing again." Winston ran his fingers over the word and sighed deeply. "I'm not sure if that's a good sign or a bad sign."

Sitting the box aside he returned his attention to the photograph that he had brought with him when he left the city.

"The promise has been kept guys, I just wish I wasn't the one left to do it. It was an honor..."

* * *

An entire day passed without any busts or any further phone calls from the doctor or any other person seeking Winston or anyone associated with him. Peter was becoming restless and tried his hardest to deny that he was just as curious about Winston as Ray, Egon and Janine. In fact, the day had been so inactive that Janine had been given the rest of the day off and gladly took the opportunity to relax while escaping Peter's 'charming' personality.

Ray sat in the driver's seat of Ecto-1 with his legs hanging out of the side of the car. He was bored and there was nothing to do. "Do we need to clean the packs?"

"Took care of that last week." Egon replied as he checked the wiring on the PKE meter in his hand. He was sitting behind Janine's unoccupied desk with a soldering iron in his hand and a flashlight in his teeth.

"What about the trap charging stations?"

"Everything is fine."

"Sorry... Just..."

"I know Ray." Egon took the flashlight out from between his teeth. "I'm becoming worried as well."

Peter let out a loud sigh as he heavily slammed his feet down from his desk and onto the floor. "Then that settles it, we find out who called Winston and get some answers."

"I already know who called Winston." Egon revealed with a stern tone.

"You... What?"

"I traced the call a few hours ago. The doctor in question is a medical doctor as you surmised Peter."

"Wait... I was right?" Peter's tone suddenly became heavy with concern. "Is there something wrong with Winston?"

"Unknown."

"How do YOU, the brains of the team, NOT know?"

"I wasn't given any details." Egon turned away from the meter and looked up at Peter. "All I was told was that the call revolved around unfortunate test results."

"I knew it." Peter smacked his hand down on the surface of Janine's desk causing Egon's tools to bounce around annoyingly. "Winston's sick. He might be dying."

"Dying?!" Ray was getting worked up. "No way! Not Winston! He's in better shape than any of us! And he wouldn't keep something like that a secret... Would he?"

"No." Egon raised his voice a little to gain some control over the situation before it careened into some form of hysteria or panic. "Winston would never-"

The door to the firehouse opened slowly as Winston returned. He was carrying the box in his hands and had a patch of rugged stubble growing along his chin from not shaving for two days.

"Winston!" Ray's voice was full of relief but his eyes were still filled with worry. "Where've you been man?"

"It's uh... It's complicated." Winston admitted as he approached the desk. "I'll tell you guys about it later."

"Tell us what? Exactly?" Peter almost demanded as the curiosity was beginning to gnaw away at him.

"Tonight." Was Winston's succinct answer as he turned on his heels and retreated to the bunk room on the second floor. "I'll tell you tonight. At ten. Until then, I'd like to be alone."

"At ten?" Peter repeated the time. "That's weird."

Ray spoke up softly. "Even if it is weird we should respect that. Everything Winston does is with a purpose."

"Ray's right." Egon agreed as he set aside his work. "Winston deserves our full attention."

"Should we call Janine?" Ray inquired sincerely. "At least let her know he's back?"

"No. Let's wait and see what Winston wants to tell us."

* * *

The evening faded into night and three waiting Ghostbusters sat together in the garage around Ecto-1 without uttering a single sound. Ray stared down at his watch as the minutes slowly ticked away ever closer to ten o'clock while Egon closed his eyes and mentally went through various mathematical equations to keep his thoughts preoccupied. Peter, however, was fidgeting anxiously where he sat next and was fighting back every urge to scream just to end the deafening quiet amongst his colleagues.

Ray stared as the minute hand crossed over the top of his watch past the number twelve and struck ten o'clock exactly. "It's time."

"FINALLY." Peter loudly exclaimed. "Now what do we-"

The sound of heavy footsteps marching in perfect rhythm down the stairs caught the three men's attention. Turning to look at the staircase they eyed Winston, who had finally shaved his face from the two day old stubble, calmly walking down the staircase wearing his flawlessly pressed and cleaned Marine Blue Dress uniform. From cap to shoes his attire was as professional and perfect as his posture. In his hands, gripped carefully between his white gloved palms, Winston carried the box the stairs and stood before his friends with the box ready to be presented.

"Wow." Peter was impressed and wasn't afraid to admit it. "Nice look."

Taking a deep breath Winston was finally ready to explain his mysterious behavior. "Thank you for waiting."

"Of course." Egon reassured his friend. "We'll do as you ask without questioning. But please don't make a habit out of it."

"Before I begin-" Winston was stopped short as Ray suddenly shot up and hugged him. "What was that for?"

Peter's tone of voice became softer. "Well, under the circumstances we don't blame him."

"And why is that?" Winston asked as Ray finally released him from the hug.

Ray cleared his throat before replying. "We know you had gotten a call from a doctor and we know it revolves around test results. Poor test results."

"I see." Winston smirked a little. "Well, let me start off by assuring you that I'm not sick and I'm not dying."

"Thank the Lord..." Ray sighed in immense relief.

Egon's brow arched a little. "Then may we ask why you received such a call?"

"The call wasn't about me, it was about a friend." Winston placed the box down on the roof of Ecto-1 and turned to face his friends. "A friend who was the last man in my squad back when I was still in the corp. We were in Saigon together."

"You were in Saigon?" Ray's eyes widened with a new found respect for the Marine.

"Yes. We were assigned to help evacuate the Mayaguez in 1975. There was... a lot of combat."

Egon and Peter kept their silence as neither man had been particularly interested in the history of war and now felt guilty for being in the dark on the details of the atrocities that Winston had witnessed firsthand.

"I was one of five in the squad, not including our sergeant." Winston stated in a low voice. "Four of my squad had been critically injured in combat while protecting innocent civilians. My sergeant had kept his cool and managed to get us out of the line of fire until additional help came to our aid." Winston took a moment to pause and clear his throat. "We took shelter in what was once a bar and tended to our downed men. Using the alcohol we managed to clean the worst of the injuries and numb the rest."

Ray was trying to keep his emotions in check but he was too much of an empathetic soul to mask the pain he was feeling on Winston's behalf.

"Do you know what a debenture is?" Winston asked before continuing his story.

"I do." Egon confirmed. "It's a pact formed amongst close friends or allies. A pledge to be carried."

"That's right." Winston was sure Egon would already know and was glad that his hunch was correct. "While we patiently waited for help we decided to go through the supplies inside the bar. We found six bottles of an aged cognac that somehow survived the onslaught of war. Throughout the day we slowly enjoyed five of the bottles and reminisced about our friends and family back home. When we were down to the last bottle with no sign of aid in sight we decided that we'd make a pledge to one another."

Winston put his hand down on the lid of the box as he expertly held everyone's full attention.

"In the event that we got out of there alive, we'd save the sixth bottle. We'd have it secured by a lawyer and have it delivered to the last survivor of the squad. The last survivor would receive the cognac and drink in honor of his fallen comrades."

Peter was now losing his emotional cool as he became increasingly enthralled by Winston's story.

"My sergeant, Jack Hudson, was the first to go. He was killed in a traffic accident six months after we returned to the states. Then there was Mark Stone who died in a house fire after saving his kids. Next was Sam Watson who developed brain cancer, and about three months after him we lost Kevin O'Neil who... Who took his own life."

Hearing the macabre life that the marines had endured after the war was absolutely heartbreaking. All three Ghostbusters, including Egon, were feeling the sickening impact of the tragedies that seemed to follow the men back home.

"And then there was Ricky Corazon. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and had been fighting back for far too long. There was little that could be done but he still wanted to fight. He also wanted to make sure that he saw his youngest graduate high school before he lost the fight, and he did."

"And when he passed," Peter was able to follow the trail easily now. "you had been called by his doctor. Can I ask why?"

"Ricky wanted to make sure that his affairs were in order after he passed. I was the one he wanted to take care of things. When I went to Boston to pay my respects and make sure his final wishes were being tended to properly I was given the last bottle of cognac."

"I see..."

"And tonight," Winston opened the lock on the box and carefully lifted the bottle from the protective red velvet that lined in the interior. "I'm going to fulfill a promise to all of my men. I'm going to drink in their honor, in the name of brotherhood. Fratum."

"Winston, we're so sorry you had to go through all of that." Ray's heart was breaking at the amount of sorrow that Winston had kept inside for all these years.

"It's okay Ray, they were all good guys and I know they're finally in a better place with a much needed sense of peace." Holding the bottle outward between his hands he looked his three friends in the eyes. "And tonight I want to remember that brotherhood by bonding with my new brothers."

"You mean...?"

"Yes. You three are also my brothers. Will you please join me in paying tribute to my squad?"

"Of course." Ray couldn't believe that Winston would even have to ask such a question.

"It'd be a true honor." Egon stood up and put his hand on Winston's shoulder.

"Winston you never have to ask us to help you honor your friends." Peter stated firmly yet kindly. "From the way you spoke about your squad we know they'd do the same for us."

"Thank you."

Pouring the cognac into four glasses the four Ghostbusters stood together in a moment of respectful silence in the middle of the old firehouse.

"To my friends," Winston saluted stoically but proudly. "friends old and new, and to my brothers who have always stood at my side as I would stand at theirs. May you find a peace in death that had eluded you in life."

 _ **-The End**_


End file.
